Hurricane Katrina causes food shortages at Popeyes restaurants

New Orleans evacuees who miss popular Popeyes side items - red beans and rice, gumbo and mashed potatoes - may have found their Cajun taste buds still unfulfilled at Popeyes chains across the nation due to temporary supply shortages from Hurricane Katrina.

Alicia Thomspon, Atlanta-based vice president of communications for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, said there are food shortages at Popeyes restaurants outside the Gulf Coast because many suppliers are from the New Orleans and Mississippi areas. There are 40 Popeyes restaurants closed in New Orleans, while 95 to 100 remain closed in the Gulf Coast. Popeyes has more than 1,800 locations in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam and 24 foreign countries.

Vanessa Ellis, district manager of four Popeyes restaurants in Washington, said her stores went without red beans and rice, gumbo, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese for two weeks before getting the full menu back Tuesday.

We maybe had one or two complaints, but for the most part people were understanding of the circumstances, Ellis said. We are happy though to be fully stocked again.

Thompson said approximately 800 New Orleans Popeyes employees have been displaced through Katrina. Popeyes and parent company AFC Enterprises Inc. in Atlanta paid employees through their last day of employment and also set up a relief fund, which offered some a one- time relief payment from a pool of $500,000.

We are getting an assessment from employees who call in and see what they plan to do and where they plan to live, Thompson said. We want to know if they can return to work once the stores open again or we have opportunities for them in some circumstances to take jobs at other franchise stores.

Thompson said Popeyes has so far pledged $2 million in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, including a $500,000 cash donation to the American Red Cross.

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